Type A and the Lord
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Duncney-style. When selfish nine-year-old Lord Duncan offends an enchantress, she confines him and his servants to his castle, using a rose as a timer. When it becomes bare, Duncan will become a self-aware statue, unless he learns to give and receive love. Now sixteen, Duncan has given up hope...until a strong-willed girl crosses paths with him. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't know why, but Stockholm Syndrome is one of my favourite plot bunnies to play with. And what is the first story I think of when I hear that word? _Beauty and the Beast,_ of course! And the most fun version to play with when I have these dozens of characters is the version that Walt Disney brought to us in 1991! Although, this isn't so much "once upon a time" as..well, now! Yeah, it's modernised to fit the characters. Also, while most of the important characters are from TDI, there will be several mentions of characters from every generation and _The Ridonculous Race._**

 **I'm sure I don't have to give you the details. How many of you don't know the story Disney told? This will NOT have the original dialogue of the movie, apart from maybe a few lines sprinkled here and there. The curse will not be the same – in fact, there's actually no Beast, except the inner one. But it's a killer – for real!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from _Total Drama_. I do not own _Beauty and The Beast._ I however, _do_ own this story, so enjoy it!**

 _Once upon a time, in a faraway land..._

"Meaning last year in Canada." A purple-haired girl chipped in. "OMG, I can't wait to hear this!"

"Can it, Sierra!" the narrator snapped. "You've heard the story a billion times, but the readers haven't! Anyway, as I was saying..."

 _..there was a forest surrounding a castle. In it lived a young lord alone. His parents passed away when he was two years old, and he was raised by the servants. But at the age of five, he decided that all old servants were not "cool" enough, and dismissed everyone over thirty, eager to give their jobs to people as young as ten or eleven. He was given everything he desired, and grew up selfish, and often ruthlessly cruel to everyone._

 _One night when he was nine, a little girl named Beth came to the castle, shivering in a ragged cloak and begging for one night's shelter, offering a single white rose as payment. The lord refused to oblige her, even when she gave him a warning that things were not always the way they seemed. When he laughed at her for the second time, she threw off her cloak, revealing herself to be a young enchantress, much prettier than she had first appeared. The lord tried to backtrack, but it was too late._

" _Lord Duncan, you have been mean and spoilt all your life!" Beth said, glaring at him. She was much smaller than him, but somehow, she was still intimidating. "You have never cared about anyone, and there's no way you'll change unless someone does something major! Therefore, I place a curse upon you, and all who live in the castle!"_

 _Beth's curse confined every servant and Lord Duncan himself to the castle grounds, making it dark and spooky. The servants were all suspended in time similar to ghosts, none of them older than sixteen, and never aging, although Duncan still did. None of them could tell any outsider about the curse – their voice wouldn't work if they tried to._

 _Duncan's only window to the outside world was a magical mirror, something Beth decided to leave, because for all her anger at the way Duncan had treated her, she couldn't stand to leave him completely cut off from the world._

 _She left her rose, but left the warning of what would happen if it wilted. When the last petal browned and fell, all the servants would disappear, and Duncan would be frozen in place, aware of everything, but a statue, for all eternity. There was only one way to break the curse. If Duncan learned to show care and concern, placing someone else's needs above his own, and earn their love in return, he would break the curse. he was on time constraints. He had to get it done before the magical white rose wilted. But as seven years passed and he became a teenager, he gave up hope, for who would ever come to the castle, much less love him? He couldn't love the servants – he'd known all of them for years! And besides, he didn't want anyone from the outside to come there. He would hate for anyone else to see him stuck like that._

In a small town called Wawanakwa where everyone knew everyone else, there lived two sisters on the outskirts. Both were very pretty, but the gossipy town thought of them as weirdos. The younger, fourteen-year-old Bridgette, was clumsy on land, but a talented surfer. The town didn't understand why she'd rather be at the beach when she could be doing what all other girls of her age were doing – flirting with boys and building up her housekeeping skills. After all, in their town, all the women left the work to the men and the women to be homemakers. Lord forbid a woman should ever have her own talents! And with someone so beautiful who could attract the attention of several guys, why would she want to spend all her time in the water?

The elder sister, sixteen-year-old Courtney, was even more of an oddity. While every other girl flirted and swooned, planning to get married the minute they were old enough, Courtney spent most of her life reading up on law and order, claimed she would never get married, and wanted to go to law school when she turned eighteen in two years' time, the time when most women had been engaged for one or two years, and were making wedding plans. Courtney was even prettier than Bridgette, and people often thought she was even stranger, going against everything every other girl in town wanted.

On this particular summer weekend, Bridgette was at the beach an hour away, practising for the national surfing contest she was participating in the following Monday. She was due to catch the flight to the beach city that evening. Courtney was in town, heading for the library.

"Good morning, Courtney!" called the man from the bakery as she walked by.

Courtney smiled politely. "Good morning."

"Where are you going today?"

"The library." she answered. "I have a couple of books to bring back, and I want to renew-"

"That's nice." muttered the baker, turning his attention back to his business.

Courtney wasn't aware of the looks that followed her.

"Ugh, she is so _weird_!" Heather muttered to her friends, Amy and Taylor.

"At least she's not nuts like her sister." Amy whispered. "I can kind of understand why Courtney wants to work for something that pays loads, but _surfing_? Seawater in the hair? So not a good look."

"Bridgette is totally a fashion failure, anyway." Taylor sniffed. "I mean, jean shorts? They are _so_ out of fashion. Not that Courtney's exactly a fashion statement herself."

"But it's not fair!" Amy whined. "Courtney actually looks good in whatever she wears! I mean, that gross grey thing is disgusting, and it _still_ looks good on her!"

But on Courtney's way back from the library, she caught the eye of a young man.

Justin was the resident model, famous for his smile, his eyes, his abs...everything. He was followed by countless girls, but only kept one by his side – Izzy, who was a year older than him and already engaged, but wasn't attracted to the model and acted as his friend and supporter. No one knew that he paid her to be supportive, but she played her role well.

"No girl is good enough for you!" she was saying now.

"True." Justin said arrogantly. "But if I have to marry someone, I think she would be the right one." He was pointing at Courtney.

"Her?" squeaked Izzy.

"Yes, she is the lucky one. The one I'm going to marry."

"But she says she's not-" Izzy attempted to say.

"She's the prettiest girl in Wawanakwa!"

"She doesn't want to-" Izzy tried again.

"That means she's the only one who is anywhere close to my looks." Justin said. "And that also makes her the best. I'll go and talk to her now."

However, two girls dressed alike jumped in front before he could follow Courtney. "Justin!" squealed Sadie, the chubby one. "Did you hear about the new musical in town? _Wicked_ is here for two weeks!"

"I've got two tickets!" Sadie's best friend Katie (the thin one) gushed. "Do you think it might be fun to go? You know, just as friends?"

"Katie, you said you'dgive _me_ one of those tickets!" Sadie exclaimed.

"But if _Justin_ wants to go, then he overrides it, Sadie." Katie replied. "We agreed on that – hotties before BFFFLs!"

Justin was glad to inch away from them. "Courtney!" he called.

Courtney turned. "Oh, hi, Justin." she said pleasantly. "Izzy." she added, seeing the redhead trailing behind.

Justin spotted the book in Courtney's hands and took it. Courtney folded her arms. "Justin, give that back." she said in her sternest voice.

"How can you read this?" Justin asked, opening it. "I don't understand a word!"

"That's because it's law jargon." Courtney said brusquely. "Now give it back!"

Katie and Sadie were staring. They couldn't believe that Courtney would care more about a book than about the fact that the town's hottest single man was interested in her.

"She's nuts!" Sadie whispered to Katie.

"I know, right?" Katie whispered back.

Justin handed it back, but said "Courtney, it's time you got that silly idea of law school out of your head and paid attention to more important things, like me! The whole town thinks it's strange for a woman to want a career! It's not good for them."

"How dare you!" gasped Courtney. "I can't believe you – this conversation is over." She started walking off.

"Wait!" Justin called after her. "I didn't mean...can't we talk?"

"No." Courtney said, her voice hard. "I have to get home, anyway. I have to give Bridgette a lift to the airport."

"That nutcase?" Izzy called out. "She needs more than a lift! Where's she flying, the psych ward?" She and Justin started laughing.

"Don't you dare talk about my sister that way!" Courtney cried, clenching her fists. "Do you want me to punch your lights out?"

Justin stopped laughing and glared at Izzy. "She's right! Don't talk about her sister that way."

Courtney wasn't fooled. "Bridge isn't a nutcase. She's a truly lovely person who is going to win thousands this weekend, if you must know." she said, nose in the air. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving."

 **Yeah, yeah, I know, Duncney is never going to happen. But look, a girl can dream, and to be honest, I can't see anyone else on the show who are jerks with golden hearts to a higher degree than these two. I hope Courtney's in character (I feel that she's a little too tolerant and nonviolent)...and I know Duncan's a little bit OOC right now, but his history is different, so I had to make him a brat as well as a tough jerk.**

 **On that note, just so I get reviews, post your favourite Duncney moment! Mine is in "The Sucky Outdoors" when they wake up cuddled up together.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, Bridgette is in this chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, Gage the Hedgehog, StarHeart Specials and the guest reviewer.**

Courtney found the house silent. "Bridgette?" she called. No answer.

"Bridge?" Still nothing. But then Courtney listened, and she could hear that sniffling sound. Something she'd known since she was two years old and Bridgette was just a baby. She ran to the bedroom the two girls shared.

"Bridge, what's wrong?" Courtney asked, seeing her sister curled up on her bed.  
"I don't think I can show up for the contest." Bridgette said softly. "I couldn't do any of my tricks today. I could barely even stand on my board – I'm hopeless!"

Bridgette, despite being younger, was usually the more levelheaded one of the two sisters, but when it came to her passions, things were different. Courtney had heard these insecurites before, and knew how to handle it.  
"You say that all the time." she tried to laugh her sister out of it. "You know you're great at surfing. All you need is a little confidence! You know you'll win the hundred grand on Monday! And when you come home, we can sell our house and use the money from that and your winnings to move into a city where it's normal to love surfing or seek more than marriage."

Just the thought of that was enough to make Bridgette cheer up a bit. "You think so? I know I'm up against older, more practised people."

Courtney grinned as her sister's frown disappeared. "Older, practised...that doesn't mean they're as good at surfing as you are. You can do it, Bridge." she said. "I believe in you, and I'll be cheering you on the whole time, even though I won't be with you."

Bridgette sighed. "I wish you could come watch." she said softly. "It'll be weird, you not being there."  
"Hey, you're only away for three nights." Courtney consoled. "Call me once you've landed, okay, and just before you come home."

The two girls had a long, tearful goodbye at the airport, just before Passport Control. Bridgette tried to smile, though, surfboard in hand, ready to face the others at the nationwide contest. Courtney waved, wishing her good luck and a safe flight.

The flight was only an hour long – it shouldn't have been a problem. But no, the plane flew right into a freak storm, and fifteen minutes from their destination, the plane crashed. Fortunately, it crashed into a river, and everyone survived. But while most people could call, Bridgette's cellphone was waterlogged, and it went dead.

"Oh, what can I do _now_?" Bridgette panicked. She decided to try and find a house, so she could ask to use their phone, and started through a forest, feeling terrified, but pressing on. Being alone in a dark wood was her worst fear, and as the sky grew steadily darker, she started to feel as if she was being watched. The gnarled trees seemed to say _Turn back! Danger!_ But Bridgette had come too far to turn back now – her only hope of finding life was to keep going.

Luckily, by the time it had gotten completely dark, she found a building. Yes, it was a creepy-looking castle, but still. If anyone lived there, she could use their phone. And if no one did...well, she could stay there for the night. It was starting to rain, and it was getting too dark to go anywhere else.

Bridgette reached up to the knocker, and rapped on it several times. No answer, but the door was open. She heard whispers, so she called out. "Hello? Is anyone there? I was wondering if I could use your phone. I'm stranded, and my phone broke, so..."

She heard whispers, closer, this time. "That poor girl. She must have gotten lost."

"Shh! We don't have a phone, and we can't risk Lord Duncan knowing someone's here."

"C'mon, DJ, she's not doing anything wrong! He'll never know if we just show her a little hospitality! And besides, she might be the answer to our curse!"

All the same, when Bridgette called out again, she jumped when a blonde-haired guy with deep blue eyes appeared in front of her. He was wearing a cowboy hat, and smiling in his friendliest way. "Yo." he greeted her. "What's up?"

"Oh, uh..." Bridgette stammered. "My p-plane crashed, and my cellphone stopped working. I need to call my sister and let her know what's happened, and -"

"Do you have a place to stay for the night?" the guy asked.

"Well, now you mention it, no." Bridgette said. "But I don't want to impose-"  
"Oh, it's okay, we're cool with it! Just keep it down, and things'll be fine! Come on!" The guy began to lead her to another room, which looked warm and inviting.

Another guy, a big, dark, strong-looking one, appeared from further up and started to protest. "No! Excuse me, Miss, but you can't-"  
"Oh, stop being a killjoy, she'll be fine!" the blonde guy insisted. Bridgette wasn't so sure, but the guy continued insisting on it, pulling up an armchair in front of the fire for her.

A pale girl with teal streaks in her hair was the next to appear. She was wearing an apron. "This is not going to end well." she muttered, but she smiled at Bridgette. "Do you want a drink or something? You're shivering, and you look like a drowned rat." she said bluntly.

"Thanks." muttered Bridgette, but she smiled back tentatively. "All I really need is a phone so I can call my sister and then I can find a place to stay-"

"Yeah, there's no phone here." the girl said. "I just thought you could use something hot, since you were caught out in the rain. I'll get Cody to get you some hot chocolate, if that's okay?"

All Bridgette could do was nod, but now she knew there was no phone, she started panicking inwardly. The girl in the apron didn't seem to notice, though. "Cody!" she called.

A puppy-like boy with blue eyes came into the room. "What is it?"

"Could you get our guest some hot chocolate?"

"Sure, Gwen! I'll be back in two minutes!" He smiled and ran out, tripping over the carpet on the way.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "He's such a goof sometimes." she sighed. "But he's nice, I guess."

But at that moment, everything went dark. The fire went out and the doors to the room flew open. Gwen and the two guys stepped into the shadows, and Bridgette shivered, terrified. What was going on?

"What is this girl doing here?" a voice growled.

It was the guy in the cowboy hat who answered. "She just wanted to use a phone, and she didn't have anywhere to go-"

"I tried to stop them, my Lord." the tall dark guy interjected, "But-"

But it was obvious this 'Lord' wasn't here for explanations. He stepped in front of Bridgette. He was only barely taller than her, and possibly only a couple of years older, about Courtney's age, but he was intimdating, with dark hair that was partly dyed green, and piercings that looked like he'd done them himself. "Who are you, and what are you doing here, in my castle?" he demanded.

"I – I..." Bridgette stammered out "My plane crashed, my phone went dead, I got lost, so I just asked to use the phone, but they said there was no phone and that I could stay, since I don't have anywhere to go-"

The guy laughed humourlessly. "You don't have anywhere to go? Well, I can assure you, you're not going anywhere! Trespassing is against the law, and while I don't set much store by laws, waltzing straight into my home is not something I'm going to forgive." And at that moment, he picked her up like she weighed nothing, and carried her to a dungeon.

Miles away, in the middle of nowhere, locked in a dungeon. Bridgette blinked back her tears, but she sighed. Could her life get any worse?

 **Oh, Bridgette...can it? So yeah – the servants are human, but they're all sixteen, just as they were when the enchantress came. Duncan has grown up from nine to sixteen, but the reason he didn't want Bridgette here is because he's given up hope and would rather spend his last days alone...or so he thinks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Courtney's still back home, of course...oh, and don't comment about the seahorse hairclip. I had to think of something Courtney could identify. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart and ShortAsVegeta.**

Courtney paced up and down in her house, too anxious to read her book on law. It was Sunday, and Bridgette still hadn't called. If she hadn't called by that night, she was going down to the airport to find out if Bridgette's plane had made it safely there or not. She didn't care if it turned out that she was worrying over nothing – Bridgette was her little sister and she needed to know she was safe.

Suddenly, there came a knock on the door. Courtney answered it, and then gave a sigh. "This better be good, Justin, I'm in a crisis."

"Oh, this is important." Justin said arrogantly. "In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this might be the most important few minutes of your life. This is the day your dreams come true." He stopped to admire himself in a mirror.

"And I suppose that means you're going to help me apply to law school so I have a place once I turn eighteen?" Courtney said, knowing he didn't mean anything of the sort.

"You'll forget all about law school once you hear this." Justin said, switching his dazzling smile on and giving Courtney the full force of it. She remained unaffected, as Justin continued. "Picture this – me in three years, with a huge paycheck from my last photo shoot, taking my beautiful wife out for champagne and oysters, with a little girl being babysat by Izzy and her husband-to-be."

"Imagine that." Courtney muttered.

"And wouldn't you like to know who that lucky and lovely woman my wife-to-be is?"

Courtney could see where this was going. "You're proposing to me?" A sly idea to get Justin out of her house took form. "Oh, Justin, I'm left speechless! I'm honestly not sure how to respond."

"Just say yes." Justin suggested.

"Oh, I'm sorry. "Courtney said, leaning against the door. Justin took the bait, and put all his weight on the door. Courtney reached for the handle and said, "But...but I think I'm too much for you!" She opened the door and swung out, Justin fell down the stairs, and Courtney closed her door again, giggling at her trick, momentarily distracted from the Bridgette thing.

Izzy and a bunch of Justin's guy friends were waiting outside. "How'd it go?" Izzy said cheerfully.

Justin scowled. "I _will_ win Courtney's heart. She will be my bride."

"I don't think you should chase a girl who's rejected you, _amigo._ " suggested Alejandro, a guy Justin had become friendly with when he'd been waiting to do a shoot. Alejandro himself was already engaged, and they'd met while his fiancee (Heather, the gossip who had been whispering to her friends about Courtney earlier) was in the same studio as Justin and doing a shoot herself. Sure, he had gone through a lot to get her to say yes himself, but he was a good judge of character and knew that Courtney truly didn't like Justin, while Heather was simply in denial.

"Besides," the Spanish charmer continued, "You have so many other lovely _chicas_ desperate for your attention." Sure enough, Katie and Sadie were hovering in the distance, swooning the minute Justin gave them a passing glance.

But the model didn't care. He had his heart set on Courtney, and he would do anything to win her.

Nighttime came, and Bridgette still hadn't called. Courtney had to go to the airport and ask what happened to Bridgette's flight.

"I'm afraid that flight never reached its destination, ma'am." said the clerk she asked. "Most of the passengers had been accounted for. What is your sister's name? Miss..."

"Bridgette Touland." Courtney answered.

"Ah, yes..." the clerk said, checking..."No, Miss Touland is still being searched for."

Courtney's blood ran cold at that second. She only got one more thing – the place the plane crashed. She was going to find Bridgette herself, but what if she found her little sister...dead?

Luckily, she knew her sister well enough to have some idea of what she would have done from the. Luckily, she wasn't missing school, since it was the summer, so she drove to the place where the plane had crashed, and then through the forest. She knew Bridgette was scared of being alone in the woods, but she also knew her sister would have overcome that fear to find somewhere to stay.

And before nightfall, she was in front of the castle. That's when she noticed on the pathway up there, a certain trinket.

"Bridgette's seahorse hairclip!" she whispered. At that moment, Courtney knew. Bridgette was somewhere in that castle, and she was going in to find her.

As she entered, she heard voices, but not what they were saying. She would have been interested.

"I _knew_ it was a bad idea to let her in for even a second!" DJ stressed. "You know I wasn't trying to be mean, Geoff! I just knew she would end up in the dungeons!"

Geoff, the blonde guy in the cowboy hat, scowled. "All right, DJ! You were right! But honestly, I felt bad for the girl. Of all the places in the world, she had to end up here."

"Hello?" Courtney called. "Bridgette? Are you in here?"

The two guys froze when they heard a voice. "Another chick?" Geoff whispered. He looked out from behind a pillar to see a relatively attractive brunette, with features strikingly similar to the blonde.

"Bridgette?" she kept calling. "Is anyone here?"

DJ frowned. "Something tells me that this girl is here for the other one..." he said, looking worried.

"But there's something different!" Geoff said, sounding excited. "I think this girl might be the one! My instinct tells me...there's just something about her." He followed the girl, carefully not letting her know she was being shadowed. For some reason, he'd felt something for the blonde, and wanted to make sure she, and this other girl, would be all right.

DJ rolled his eyes, but by that time, Geoff and Courtney had both left. She was nearing the dungeons.

Other servants had seen her too.

"Gwen! Did you hear?" Leshawna, one of the many cleaners of the castle, approached the kitchen maid. "There's another girl in the castle, and people are saying that they think she might be the one for Duncan. I'm not sure, but everyone seems to have a good feeling about her."

"The one to 'thaw his cold frozen heart'?" Gwen rolled her eyes as she spoke. "Oh, yeah. As if. He'll probably throw this one in the dungeons too."

Little did she know that Courtney was already in the dungeons, willingly. "Bridgette?" she called.

"Courtney!"

The brunette turned around to see her sister peeking through a barred window in a door. "Bridgette!" she cried, putting her hand through the bar. Bridgette grasped it gratefully.

"What happened?" Courtney asked.

"I...I..." Bridgette gulped, pulling her hand away. "Courtney, you have to leave, right now!"

"I'm not leaving." Courtney said stubbornly. "Not until you're free."

"Please, Court, he'll just lock you up too!" Bridgette pleaded.  
"Who?" Courtney asked. "I heard voices in the hall, but I couldn't see anyone. Who was it?"

"That would be me."

Courtney jumped at the snarky voice, and turned. She couldn't see well in the gloomy light, but there was a clear sillhouette. She could see the speaker was small, but there was a subtle threat in his voice.

But Courtney refused to flinch. "Let my sister go, you creep!" she said fiercely. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm the Lord of this castle." the silhouette said. "If your sister wanted to be free, maybe she shouldn't have trespassed."

"Disproportionate retribution much?" Courtney shot back. "Just let her go! She's only fourteen! What do I have to do to make you let her go?"

The silhouette folded his arms. "If you're so strong, why don't you just kick the door down?" he teased.

Courtney sighed, exasperated. Somehow, his teasing tone made her feel worse than she had when he's spoken in that threatening tone.

Geoff was around the corner. He'd seen Duncan coming and knew it wasn't a good idea to get caught.

Finally, Courtney spoke again. She'd finally thought of the one thing. "If you have to lock an innocent girl up, take me!"

The silhouette's head jerked up. "You...you're saying you'd stay here if I let her go?"

"And would you do that?" Courtney questioned.

He considered. "Yes. But you're not going to have fun. You staying here means you stay here...forever."

"Courtney, don't!" Bridgette cried.

Courtney ignored her. "I can't see you properly." she said to the silhouette. "Can I at least know who I'm speaking to before I make this deal?" She was going to do it no matter what she saw, but she wanted to see what her captor-to-be looked like, at least.

Finally, her gaze landed on the guy. She could tell from his face that he was young, only around the same age as her. The way he was standing there, a neutral frown on his face, told Courtney that he had no feelings to spare. She could tell from his clothes that he was, indeed, rich, but despite the clothes being top-quality, they were just jeans and a skull T-shirt. He had at least three piercings on his face, and several more in his ears. Part of his hair was neon green and spiked up, but the rest was black.

What took Courtney by surprise was his eyes. While he'd seemed cold and emotionless, not caring about anything, she could see a glimmer of... _something_ in his eyes. She wasn't sure what it was, but that clinched it. If there was anything there, this would be bearable.

She stepped up. "Once you let Bridgette go, I give you my word. I won't leave."

"Agreed." the guy said. He unlocked the door of Bridgette's cell. Then he called "Geoff, I know you're there. Show her out, will you?"

Meanwhile, the younger girl was hugging her sister hard. "You didn't have to do that! I don't want you trapped-"

"I have to do it, for you. Don't try to make me change my mind. I love you, Bridgette. Stay strong. Go home-" Courtney whispered back before the two girls were pulled apart. Courtney only had enough time to hand over her car keys.

Geoff had left his hiding place. He smiled awkwardly. "See you later, Lord Duncan." Then he gently led Bridgette out of the castle.

"Do you know how to get home from here?" he asked her at the door. Bridgette shook her head, until she saw Courtney's car, and remembered.

"Oh...I have Courtney's car keys, and we have a GPS. I haven't driven before, but I think I can get home." Of course, Bridgette was too young to drive, but she had a good idea of how to do it. Anyhow, she'd have to try.

"Guess I shouldn't really have invited you in." Geoff said sheepishly. "Don't worry – your sister will be all right. She seems like the strong type, and no one will hurt her in here. Bye." He watched Bridgette leave, before going back inside, wishing it was as easy for him to leave as it was for her. It was so constricting, only able to go as far as the gates.

 **I feel like this was longer than it probably is. I hope it's not too close to the original for you.**

 **Also, I want to know what your thoughts are on which characters are mirroring the originals so far. Do you like it? Do you think I could have done some different characters?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, okay, so this is where Courtney's story really starts. Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart and Gage the Hedgehog.**

While Bridgette was leaving, Duncan was looking Courtney over. Actually, he was blatantly checking her out. Courtney stared back at him, her dark eyes filled with anger.

"What are you staring at, creep?" she spat. She knew his name now, since she'd heard Geoff say it, but she had no plans to use it any time soon. After all, the guy had locked her younger sister up, and only let her go when Courtney offered to take her place.

"Enjoying the view." Duncan said casually. "Got a problem with it, Princess?"

"Yes, I do. And don't call me that – my name is Courtney!" Courtney snapped. "Are you going to lock me up, or not?"

Duncan studied Courtney again, before he replied. "No. Since you're staying, I thought I'd give you a room that fits your personality. And some freedom." In reality, he'd considered locking Courtney in the dungeon, but a voice in the back of his mind, for some reason, was telling him that if Courtney was staying, she deserved a proper room.

"And what does that mean?" Courtney said defiantly.

"What it means, Princess _,_ is that you might actually like the room."

Courtney fell silent, although she was just dying to correct him again. She knew exactly what he was trying to say when he called her 'Princess', and only kept quiet to make sure he didn't change his mind.

"By the way," Duncan said as he led the way, "You can go anywhere in the castle – except up that staircase." He waved a hand at it. It was where he kept the rose and other important things, and he didn't want Courtney going through it.

"What's up-" Courtney began.

"I am not above grevious injury if I find you up there." Duncan said in his quietest voice. He never made loud threats – the minute he became scariest and the most dangerous was when his voice went quiet, and Courtney saw that instantly. She didn't ask again.

Finally, Duncan opened a pair of double doors. "If you need anything, the servants are always on hand." he said. He paused, thinking, and added "One of them will call you down when it's dinner time."

"Will I have to see you if I come down?" Courtney asked boldly.

"You're smart. Figure it out." Duncan shot back.

Courtney knew the answer. "Then I decline. I'm not coming down."

"Joining me isn't a request." Duncan said. "I expect you down at the right time." He didn't wait for an answer, leaving Courtney alone in her new room.

It was a nice room, admittedly. It was much bigger than her one at home, and there she had to share with Bridgette. Courtney had always wished for more space, but now that she was most likely never going to see Bridgette again, she'd rather have a room half the size of this one, and her sister with her.

Tears welled up in Courtney's eyes, as the full force of her sacrifice hit her. Not only had she lost her sister, she'd lost her chance at her ambitions. She'd never go to law school. She'd never get to do anything. She couldn't go to a library, either. She couldn't do _anything_ outside of the castle.

Courtney hated to cry. But it was okay. No one was in the room with her. Courtney threw herself on her new bed and spent half an hour soaking the pillows with tears.

Courtney's tears were drying up when there came a knock on the door. She wiped her eyes, sniffed, and remembering what Duncan had said about the servants, called "Who is it?"

"Do you want tea?" a girl's voice called.

Courtney paused. She liked tea, although she preferred coffee. But any hot drink would proably have made her feel better at this point. Finally, she said "Yeah, thanks."

The door opened, and a girl came in. She didn't look much older than Courtney, but much paler, with dark makeup. If it wasn't for the apron around her waist, she would have looked like an emo. As it was, the apron didn't hide that she was full-on goth.

But she smiled sympathetically at Courtney, and handed her a teacup. "I heard what happened." she said. "That was brave of you." She paused and said "I'm Gwen, by the way. I work in the kitchens, mostly."

Courtney frowned. "How old are you? Don't you have school?"

Gwen shrugged. "Long story. But I left school anyway – financial problems, blah blah blah, don't really wanna talk about it." She paused to draw breath and then said "But I thought you might want to vent."

Courtney took a sip of her tea and considered. Gwen seemed nice. And heaven knew Courtney needed all the friends she could get. But on the other hand, Gwen was a servant, and a question entered Courtney's mind.

Finally, the question came out of the brunette's mouth. "You're not going to report what I say to your boss, are you?"

Gwen laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm used to Duncan now, but he can be a real douche sometimes. I mean, he's better than he was, but I wouldn't report back to him. Trust me, backstabbing is not my style."

But before Courtney could reply, there was another knock on the door. "Wardrobe consultant!" sang out a peppy voice.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Should I let her in?" she asked.  
Courtney shrugged. "Not like things should get any weirder."

Gwen opened the door, and a buxom blonde bounded in, dresses hanging off her arms. "Hi!" she said. "Oh my gosh, you are gorgeous! How do you get your hair that glossy, and your freckles – so cute!"

"Whatever." Courtney muttered. "Um, excuse me, but who are you?"

"I'm your wardrobe consultant!" the girl said. "My name's Lindsay."

Courtney held out her hand. "Courtney Touland. Nice to meet you."

Gwen was hiding a smile. "I...I guess I'll just leave you two. I have to get dinner ready, anyway. I can't trust Cody to do it on his own – chances are he'll burn everything, and that's the _good_ scenario." She mouthed a _Sorry_ at Courtney, and left the room.

"So, I thought you should wear something special for dinner tonight!" Lindsay gushed. "I was just coming in to restock your wardrobe, but why don't I help you pick out something?"

"Don't bother." Courtney advised her. "I'm not going."

Lindsay gasped. "But why? Lord Duncan wants you to! Do you know how lucky you are?"

"You may serve Duncan, but he doesn't own me." Courtney said stubbornly. "First he throws my sister into the dungeon, then when I offer to take her place, he barely lets me say goodbye, then openly stares at me like I'm some kind of slut for him to look at, and basically orders me to join him for dinner. Is it any wonder I'm refusing to go?"

At that moment, there was another knock on the door. It opened, and a tall dark man put his head in. "Excuse me for intruding," he said in a pleasant, gentle voice, "But...dinner is served."

Courtney shrugged. "You can tell Duncan I have no intention of coming down, on account of I don't want to see that self-centred spoilt lord ever again!"

The man didn't push it. He left. After that, Lindsay also slipped out, leaving Courtney on her own.

 **We'll go back to the village next. Hope you liked this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, the tavern. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart.**

While Courtney was adjusting to being a prisoner in a castle for the rest of her life and Bridgette was struggling her way back to the small town, Justin was sitting in a tavern, moping about Courtney's rejection.

"I can't believe it. I'm disgraced." groaned Justin. "I can't believe she said no!"

"Aw, come on!" Izzy attempted to cheer him up. "Am I going to have to start singing to cheer you up?"

"Shut up, Izzy." Justin muttered.

"Oh, it looks like you _do_ need the song!" Izzy exclaimed. "Well, here it comes..." She got the attention of everyone in the tavern with her first line " _Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Justin, looking so down and so hurt._

 _Every guy here'd love to be you, Justin, a sculpted God without a shirt!_

 _There's no one around who's admired like you, you're everyone's favourite guy!_

 _I'm paid for praise that's inspired by you, and it's not very hard to see why..."_

After a while, everyone was joining in Izzy's song, and Justin himelf began to cheer up in spite of himself. Katie and Sadie were swooning over him, the other men were admiring him, and everyone praised him. Izzy swung from the chandelier in the middle of the room as she led everyone in singing " _No one's hot as Justin, models lots like Justin,_

 _In dazzling girls no one can smile like Justin!"_

" _Cause I've been doing it for the last sixteen years..."_ Justin added.

" _We love a guy..."_ everyone sang. " _Like Justiiiiiiiin!"_

But just as that happened, another person ran into the tavern. A familiar girl, her ponytail messy, green eyes wide with sorrow and fear, and looking wild.

"Please!" she gasped out. "I need help! Courtney...she's imprisoned there...I can't-"

Justin's ears had pricked up at the sound of Courtney's name. "Bridgette? Slow down...who's imprisoned Courtney?"

"A man – a Lord, they said...he hates tresspassers and locks them in dungeons. The only reason I got away was because Courtney offered herself in my place." Bridgette said, almost in tears.

There was a pause, before everyone began laughing. No one believed for a second that a lord would do that. It sounded like a fairytale to everyone else. Poor Bridgette was laughed right out of the bar.

"Crazy Bridgette." chuckled some of the men. "Always good for a laugh."

"It sounds like she's really lost it!" Izzy cackled. "I mean, she was already crazy, spending all her time on a surfboard. Now she's making up stories about Courtney?"

Justin was looking thoughtful. "Crazy Bridgette, hmm? Let me think about this, Izzy..." He smiled. "You see, Bridgette is Courtney's sister. And we both know that Courtney would do absolutely anything for her little sister. Yeah?"

Izzy nodded. "How are you going to use that?" she asked, catching on.

"Oh, well now that Bridgette's crossed the line from insane to demented, I think I can call that man running the asylum." Justin smirked. "Remember when that terrorist woman threatened to blow up the town and he took her away?"

"Scarlett?" Izzy said. "Yes, I know what happened, I was there! What was his name again?"

"Dr McLean." Justin answered. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed. "And if Courtney doesn't marry me, her little sister will be the one being taken away this time."

Meanwhile, while Justin built up his ego and Courtney sulked, many of Duncan's servants were trying to coach him on how to act during dinnertime. DJ had gone to fetch Courtney, while Geoff and Gwen gave him advice.

"She's taking ages." he groaned. "What's happening up there?"

"Be patient." Gwen said. "She's lost her sister and her freedom. She's bound to be angry. It was obvious – she would never have given up her life if it had been anyone else. She's furious that she had to make such a deal to make you let her sister go free. You'll just have to show her your better side this evening."

"Smile at her." Geoff told her. "Act charming-"

"But don't be fake." Gwen added. "And don't flirt with her – she's already angry with you and that would just make things worse."

Duncan wasn't taking any of this seriously. "Whatever."

"This is a huge chance!" Gwen told him. "Courtney might be your only chance to break Beth's curse! Honestly. You know the rose is starting to wilt! We have about a year, tops. Seriously, do you want to be a statue?"

Duncan heaved a sigh. "Shut _up,_ Gwen. What do you think, I'll be able to love the girl? I don't even like her. She's a spoilt little princess. And I'm not going to act all sweet and nice to her when she's being difficult."

"She's only acting that way because she's angry right now." Gwen said. "Once she's ready, I'm sure you'll see her true personality."

"And in the meantime, you can try to make things as nice for her as possible." Geoff suggested. "Besides, would you rather have her mad at you or have her want to be nice to you?"

These words hit a chord with Duncan. Yeah, he didn't love Courtney. She'd acted pretty difficult so far. But in that case, _pretty_ was the operative word. Duncan would be lying if he said he hadn't liked the way she looked. And Gwen was right – if he had any humanity left, and he saw a likable side of Courtney, maybe his feelings towards her would change. Already, he did sort of admire her stubborness, although it didn't make him like her. But Geoff was right, too. The only way to bring out any likability in the brunette would mean more effort than he'd ever made before. And he did want to break the curse. So if his servants wanted to try to get him set up with Courtney for both his and their own sakes, who was he to fight?

The door opened, and DJ came in, looking scared.

"Where is she?" Duncan demanded.

"Well..uh..." DJ stammered, "I mean...circumstances being not the best...and her still being angry...well..." He paused before he admitted. "She refused to leave her room."

Duncan was annoyed, but he didn't show it. He walked up to Courtney's room, and without knocking, tried the door. It was locked.

"Princess?" he said through the door, trying to sound light and teasing. "Do you have a fasting schedule or something?"

"Go away." snapped Courtney's voice. "If you're here to persuade me to come down, I'm not going to."

Duncan got more serious. "If you don't come down, I might get angry. And trust me, everyone else will tell you that me angry is not something anyone wants to see."

"I won't see you angry if I stay in here." Courtney shot back.

Geoff, who had followed him, caught up at that moment and heard Courtney's comment. "Try being apologetic." he suggested in a whisper. "Then ask her again."

Duncan took a deep breath, and then said "Listen, I'm sorry about what I did earlier. I'm not very good at self-control."

"I can see that." Courtney said from inside. "Are you going to apologize for kidnapping my sister too? Either way, you aren't forgiven."

Duncan cursed. Finally, he said "C'mon, please come down for dinner."

"No." Courtney replied, a short, sharp word that shot down any hopes.

Duncan gave up. "Fine, don't! Have fun starving yourself!" As he passed Geoff, he muttered "If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat. Make sure the kitchen staff know."

Geoff did tell Gwen about what he'd said. She simply gave a sigh and said "Does he really expect us to starve her? He's being a jerk to her. I wouldn't leave my room either. If she wants food later on, she can come down."

Geoff nodded in agreement. He'd only told Gwen because Duncan had wanted him to – he hadn't expected Gwen to obey, and he wouldn't either.

 **After all, Duncan is still at an early stage, still selfish and unable to see his own flaws. He'll get further later on. Please, if you choose to review, please tell me what you liked/hated about the chapter. I like to know what's good and what isn't.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So. Yeah. More of Courtney. Enjoy. Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, Bubhh (I'm thinking a Gidgette-fied version of _The Little Mermaid_ now...any other suggestions for later?) and Gage the Hedgehog.**

Duncan went up to his private quarters, full of his important things, and pulled out the mirror. "Show me Courtney." he ordered, and the mist in the mirror cleared to show the brunette. It seemed that Lindsay had come back and suggested going through the wardrobe of dresses she could wear, but Courtney wasn't interested. "How can I be, when I was just ripped away from my whole life? I can't fulfill my ambitions! I'm never even going to see my little sister again, stuck in a castle ruled by someone I despise."

"Aren't you being a bit hard on Duncan?" Lindsay asked. "Maybe you should try to get to know him a little!"  
"I don't _want_ to get to know him!" Courtney said bitterly, turning her fury on a scared-looking Lindsay. "I don't even want to look at him!"

What a depressing thought. Duncan's only chance to break the curse on him didn't want to even look at him. But although he'd resigned himself to the curse, now that there was a chance to break it, his outlook changed.

"I'm not going to give up." he muttered to himself. "If I've only got a year to make her love me, I'll just have to work hard at it." He didn't acknowledge the part of the curse where he himself had to learn to love. He still didn't really understand how he could do that.

Hours later, after Duncan had dozed off in his bedroom, Courtney was lying awake. She almost regretted refusing to go to dinner earlier, because now she really felt like she was starving, and she knew from Duncan telling her to "have fun starving" that the servants would have been told not to give her anything.

But she'd have to try. Besides, it was midnight. Most of the servants would be asleep, but she could cook herself. And if Duncan was still up...well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

As it was, some of the servants closest to Duncan were still up, and sitting around a table in the kitchen – just the three. They looked up when Courtney entered.

"Um...hi." she said.

DJ was the first to respond. "Hey, good to see you're out! I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself." He shook Courtney's hand. "I'm DJ."

Geoff came up and also introduced himself, grinning. "And you've already met Gwen." he added, gesturing over to the pale girl, who smiled slightly.

Courtney introduced herself, smiling in spite of the misery she felt. While Lindsay had exasperated her both times she'd come up to manage Courtney's wardrobe, these guys and Gwen seemed like good people, easy to get along with and not too shallow either.

"Anyway," DJ said, "If there's anything we can do to make your stay here more comfortable, we're happy to help."

Courtney thought about voicing her hunger. Well, what harm could it do? "I guess I am kind of hungry." she admitted, not sure whether she expected to be allowed food.

Gwen jumped up. "I'll get something for you." she offered.

DJ frowned. "But Duncan said that she wasn't to-"

"Screw what Duncan said." Gwen interrupted. "I'm here to do kitchen work, not to do _everything_ he tells me regardless of what I think. And if she wants something to eat, I'll get something."

"It's all right, Gwen." Courtney said. "You don't have to cook anything. If you'll just show me where the food is, I can do it."

Gwen shrugged and smiled. "It's okay. It's hard cooking in a new kitchen. But if you want to help, I won't stop you."

"All right." DJ gave a sigh. "But nothing too big, and then, straight back to her room."

"Lighten up, DJ!" Geoff said. "You just said if there's anything we can do – Courtney's a guest, and we should make her feel welcome here."

DJ sighed again, knowing that he was losing. "All right, all right. Do what you want. But if Duncan hears and gets mad, I knew nothing, all right?" He went to bed himself, while they prepared the food. Geoff mainly just stood there, chatting, while Courtney and Gwen did the actual cooking. Courtney thawed considerably, and soon, she was firm friends with both servants. The two of them told Courtney all about the other servants and told her fun stories, while Courtney told them all about her ambitions.

"You know, I think I should introduce you to Emma." Gwen remarked. "She's one of the librarians. She originally took the job to get the money to pay for law school herself, but complications happened." Translation: Emma was there when the enchantress came, and was confined to the castle, stuck at the age of twenty-one.

Once Courtney was finished, she spoke again. "I guess...I should go back to my room now."

"Wait a minute!" Geoff exclaimed. "Don't you want a tour of the place? You've only really seen the dungeon room, and I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't have looked at most of the rooms you passed when Duncan showed you to your bedroom."

"True." Courtney admitted. As they entered the main hall, Courtney glanced up at the staircase Duncan had specifically warned her away from. What kind of secrets was he hiding up there? She was dying to know.

Gwen saw her looking. "So what kind of rooms do you want to see?" she asked quickly. "We have a giant ballroom. And we have a mini-theatre, and a library..."

"I want to know what's up there." Courtney muttered, starting up the stairs.

Geoff jumped in front of her. "Whoa! Sorry, but you can't go up there."  
"Why not?" Courtney said.

"Didn't Duncan tell you?" Gwen added. "The rooms up there are basically his private quarters. Even the cleaners aren't allowed up there. Zoey, one of the many cleaners, accidentally went up there when she was new, and Duncan was all set to kick her out of the castle, except I vouched for her."

"Besides," Geoff added, trying to sidetrack the brunette, "There's so many more interesting rooms in the rest of the castle. Gwen, you said Courtney would get along with Emma, didn't you? Is she still awake?"

Gwen caught on to his tactics. She knew perfectly well that Emma wouldn't be up this late, but she said "If she is, she'll be in the library. Courtney, you coming?"

Courtney shrugged. "Sure!" She followed when she saw Gwen looking over her shoulder, but then, crept back. Did they honestly expect her to _not_ want to see what Duncan kept in his secret rooms?

The hallway past the staircase was dark and creepy, full of statues. To be honest, the decoration definitely had Duncan written all over it. The skull designs on the wall, the creaky floor...it was like something out of a horror movie. A really cheap horror movie, the kind Courtney would refuse to watch, which she suspected a creep like Duncan would really love.

Courtney went to the room right at the end of the hall. It was the one adjoining to Duncan's bedroom, but Courtney didn't notice the door in the corner. No, what caught her attention was the glass case next to the french windows that led to the balcony.

Inside it was a white flower – Beth's rose. It shone with a white light, and Courtney was dazzled. She stepped closer to it...

And then a shadow fell over her.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Duncan almost growled at her. His voice was quiet, but the amount of threat in his tone made Courtney truly afraid of him. For the first time, there was no underlying anger or hate pounding through her veins – it was pure fear. Even the fact that he was wearing pyjamas and had clearly just woken up didn't change that.

"I..I'm sorry..." Courtney stammered.

Duncan suddenly was holding her by the shoulders, gripping so hard that Courtney was sure he would leave a bruise. His blue eyes burned. "I specifically told you not to come up here, and you do it anyway?"

"I was just curious!" Courtney protested softly.

Duncan's hands only tightened on her shoulders. "Do you realize the damage you could have caused?" he said roughly.

Suddenly, something clicked in Courtney's mind. She had to get out of there. Screw her promise not to leave, screw her sacrifice, she had to run. She couldn't stay there, even though she'd promised.

She had to use all of her strength to pry Duncan's hands off her shoulders. "Leave me the hell alone!" she shrieked, her voice so loud that it echoed five times off the walls. By the time it had faded away, Courtney was already on her way back down the staircase. She sprinted out of the castle, into the dark cold night...but stopped short.

Coyotes were outside the gate, growling. They spotted Courtney, and were trying to get across. They...oh no...managed to get over the gate and were running straight at her!

The brunette was strong, but there was no way she could take on the three coyotes that were able to cross. She was frozen to the spot. She closed her eyes waiting to die...

But five seconds later, she was still untouched. She opened her eyes to see a fourth figure, a sharp penknife in his hand, on the ground attempting to stab the coyotes.

It was Duncan.

Courtney was still frozen as she watched him physically fighting the coyotes. He didn't kill any of them, but they were injured enough by his knife to leave, whimpering.

Courtney knelt down, seeing Duncan was injured himself. It was nothing life-threatening, but he clearly needed some First Aid.

"You..saved me." she murmured.

Duncan gave a weak smile. "You're my prisoner." he said, trying to keep up his tough-guy image. "I couldn't let you run off or possibly die, now could I?"

But Courtney had made up her mind. Duncan had shown something good in him by fighting the coyotes and saving her life. She couldn't just leave after all that.

 **This chapter could have been divided into two, but without "Be Our Guest" this part of the movie is a lot shorter. And let's be honest, can you see Geoff setting up a musical number when most of the castle's residents are asleep? Parties only work when everyone's awake, and there are certain people in the castle who do not take kindly to being woken up. Take the ending of this chapter as sort of similar to "Who Can You Trust", when Courtney sees Duncan's nice side for the first time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, when we left off...**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Bubhh (great ideas – I might use them later on...I'll try to at least) and Bloodylilcorpse.**

Courtney was practised in First Aid. The previous summer, she'd applied to a summer camp as a Counsellor-In-Training, and had learned enough from her seminars to become a certified CIT – First Aid being one of the things she'd learned. That night, all she did was bandage most of Duncan's worst injuries, promising to get a look at them the next morning to check out exactly how to heal them the next morning, and then got some sleep.

She was woken by a knock on the door. "What is it?" she called.

A girl she didn't know put her head in. "DJ sent me up." she explained. "Lord Duncan is downstairs, and he wants to speak to you."

Courtney instantly remembered the events of the last night, and said "Oh, yes! I was going to check out his injuries in further depth."

"He's not expecting you straightaway." the girl said. "You can get dressed first. Do you want me to send Lindsay in to pick out an outfit for you?"

"No thanks." Courtney said, suppressing a shudder at the blonde gushing over recent events. "Tell Duncan I'll be down soon."

Of course, any good intentions disappeared once she was downstairs, with Duncan acting as an unwilling patient. He kept insisting he was "fine" and protested whenever Courtney attempted to check out his injuries. When he finally let her tend to the worst, they still argued over the way she was treating it.  
"Ow! Stop it!" Duncan complained.

"I _have_ to do this!" Courtney snapped. "Take it like a man!"

"Just stop! It's torture!"  
"Just hold still and it'll hurt less!"

"You know, this could've been avoided if you hadn't tried to run away!"

"If you hadn't scared me, I wouldn't have left!"

"Well, you shouldn't have been in my quarters in the first place!"

"Are you trying to tell me _you_ were within my rights when you locked up my sister?"

When Duncan didn't reply to this, starting to look ashamed, Courtney let it go, and continued treating his wounds. He didn't complain, and after a minute, Courtney spoke again.

"I don't think I said this last night," she admitted, "But thanks. For saving my life."

Duncan only replied by touching her hand briefly, as if to say _I couldn't have let you die._ He wasn't brave enough to say it out loud, but Courtney understood.

However, life at the castle wasn't melodious. Although Courtney stopped refusing to be around Duncan, and even tried to talk to him civilly once in a while, they ended up bickering almost every single time they were together. Duncan would make some lewd, flirtatious or otherwise stupid remark that Courtney would take exception to, or Courtney would complain about something, and soon they'd be fighting. Courtney got especially annoyed whenever Duncan called her "Princess", even though he started calling her that more in affection, and partly because her reactions amused him.

Only occasionally were the two able to see the good in each other. And although Duncan didn't realize it, he was starting to fall for Courtney. Her fiery spirit, her stubborness, her strength...she was everything he liked in a woman.

When Duncan was alone, he'd sometimes check up on Courtney in his mirror, to see whether he was making any progress. Sadly, he couldn't work it out. She often chatted to the servants, but she never talked about him, or only mentioned him in passing.

Courtney, for the most part, was starting to feel better about her situation. If she was free to leave, and if she had Bridgette with her, she would have been happy. People in the castle didn't think she was weird. Gwen, Geoff and DJ were her closest friends, but the others she got to know were nice. As Gwen predicted, she got along very well with Emma, the librarian who originally wanted the place there to get enough to pay for law school. However, Cody, the boy from the kitchens who trailed after Gwen and hung on to every word she said, often irritated her, although she didn't say anything.

One day, Geoff said something of interest. "Courtney, may I ask...about your sister?" His voice was shyer, quieter than usual.

Courtney was surprised. "I guess. What is it?"

"Can you just tell me stuff about her? I never even caught her name."

"Oh." Courtney frowned. "Her name is Bridgette. She's two years younger than me. She was on her way to a surfing contest." She gave a sigh. "I miss her so much."

Geoff's expression became dreamy. "Awesome...she sounds so...awesome...I wish I could've gotten to know her."

Gwen hit him with an oven mitt. "Snap out of it, loverboy. We have a very protective older sister listening to this. Besides, you barely got a chance to talk to her."

"It's called love at first sight, Gwen!" Geoff protested. "I think with my heart."

"Or with your hormones." Gwen muttered. Courtney laughed. She didn't mind that Geoff had clearly developed a crush on Bridgette at first sight. She knew he was a decent guy, and two years older wasn't enough of a difference to make her get protective. And after all...she would never see her little sister again, would she?

Unknown to her, Bridgette hadn't given up on finding help after she was laughed out of the bar. But no one would listen to her story. Worse, she didn't know about the guy in the flash car that had come over to see Justin, only two weeks after she'd gone into the tavern, talking about Courtney being imprisoned in the castle.

Izzy hovered as Justin explained the situation to Dr McLean. "You see, there's two girls that live just outside town. I swore to myself that I would be married to Courtney, the older one. The problem is, I need a way to..persuade her. Her sister, she's...well, to be polite, not in the best of mental health. I mean, she surfs, she doesn't wear makeup, she doesn't act normal at all. And two weeks ago, she came into a tavern ranting about Courtney being locked up in a castle."

Dr McLean's face was thoughtful. "So you're paying me thousands to lock up a harmless but possibly delusional fourteen-year-old unless her sister agrees to marry you?" Justin nodded, and the man's face broke out into a malicious and even camera-worthy grin. "That...is...AWESOME! Dude, if I didn't need the money, I'd do it for free. But...I'll take the cheddar."

Justin smiled back. "All right."

But while they were doing that, Bridgette had decided what to do. "If no one will listen to me, I'm going to have to go back to the castle. I don't care what it takes, I need to see Courtney just one more time, at least."

She took the car again, and drove away, only five minutes before Justin, Izzy and Dr McLean arrived at the house.

"Stay here." Justin ordered Izzy. "When they get back, call me immediately, got it?"

Izzy nodded.

 **So yeah, I thought Chris would be great as the guy from the asylum, because I knew how much he'd love an idea like this. Hope you guys are okay with that.**


	8. Chapter 8

**All right. I guess we're going back to Courtney, yet again. Thank you for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

Whenever Courtney wasn't around, the servants were still plotting ways to make her fall for Duncan. They had been getting along better, the more time they spent together, but they were still arguing and while Duncan was pretty obviously flirting with her at times, Courtney's side of the arguments was almost always bitter and angry.

It was DJ who came up with an idea. "Some kind of surprise. If Duncan does something special for Courtney, something she'll love, it'll prove he wants her to be happy here. Although it needs to be something that _Courtney_ would like – not any girl."

Gwen grinned. "I've gotten to know her well. Leave the ideas to me."

She was also the one who approached Duncan. Although he had annoyed her multiple times growing up, they'd actually become very friendly while Gwen was stuck at sixteen and Duncan grew up. Often, she was the only one who saw his softer side.

When Gwen presented the idea, she didn't even have to suggest what Courtney would like. Duncan had been paying more attention to her than she'd expected. "She's always in the library, reading. If I get a bunch of you to make up one of the empty rooms as a library with only the books she's interested in...well, that should work." And although he didn't know what kind of books Courtney liked, Emma and the other librarians he'd hired were surprised at how good he was at guessing.

"He must really be into her!" Emma whispered to Noah, another librarian that she had a "secret" (she didn't know everyone else could tell) crush on for two years.

The witty guy (who had his own secret crush on Emma, but didn't know she liked him) gave a small smile and said "Pretty obvious, Em. Problem is, she's not into _him._ "

But Courtney definitely appreciated the gesture when one and a half months after she got there, Duncan showed her into the room, keeping his flirtatious or witty remarks to a minimum.

Courtney gasped. "All my favourite books! Everything I've ever wanted to read..."

"I thought you might appreciate it." Duncan muttered, trying not to look too happy that it had worked. "I mean, I don't read this stuff, but I guessed that these were your kind of titles."

Not realizing what she was doing, Courtney gave Duncan a hug. "Thank you so much!" She didn't realize until she was practically cuddled up to him that she stepped away, still smiling.

After that, their arguments didn't stop, but it got less bitter. One day, when Courtney was making a dessert in the kitchen, Duncan came in.

"You don't have to do that." he said. "Make Gwen or Cody do it – that's what they're hired for."

"I wanted to make it." Courtney said without looking up. "Besides, I told Gwen to go and take a break, and Cody followed her."

"C'mon, loosen up and have some fun!" Duncan said impatiently. "What are you making, anyway?"

Courtney shrugged. "Custard pastries. See all the bowls?"

Duncan couldn't resist. He picked up the icing bag that was full of custard, and squirted it at Courtney. She squealed as it hit her, and then did something unexpected.

She picked up one of the bowls full of custard and tipped it on Duncan, then burst into giggles. Before long, it had become a full-scale custard fight, the uncooked pastries forgotten.

Finally, they ended up laughing together, leaning against the counter, closer than usual. Suddenly, Courtney reached out with an unscathed fingertip, coated it in some of the custard on Duncan's face, and tasted it. There was a moment of silence.

" _It has to be illegal to make that movement look that sexy."_ The comment was on Duncan's lips, but he didn't let it out.

They were staring at each other for a moment, dark eyes locked on blue. Duncan was just about to make a move, when...

"Ugh, I've got this all over me!" Courtney flinched away, looking at her custard-stained clothes. "I better go take a shower."

"Wait for me!" Duncan teased.

Courtney didn't take offence, this time. "Wait your turn!" she teased back, even though there were several baths, showers and bathrooms in general in the castle.

After that, the servants didn't really need to move things along. Another month passed, and as the young girl and the cursed lord spent more time together, something changed. Duncan still checked out his progress with Courtney every so often.

One night, he pulled out his mirror. "Show me Courtney." he commanded, and as it turned out, she was sitting in the kitchen with Gwen.

Cody set down mugs in front of them. "Hot chocolate, ladies."

"Thanks." the two girls chorused, and Cody left them alone to talk.

"So," Gwen said, a bit of a sparkle in her eyes, "You and Duncan, huh?"

Courtney laughed. "Gwen, you're making it sound like we're dating or something!"

Gwen chuckled. "Well, who can blame me? Guy's totally fallen for you."

"No way!" Courtney protested. "The guy basically locked me up in this place! He can't possibly feel that way about me!"

Duncan's heart sank at those words. He _did_ feel that way about Courtney. He was good at hiding it, covering up by careless flirty remarks and teasing, but it was true. He didn't know if he loved Courtney, but he knew that what he felt for her was so different, more intense than any feeling he'd ever had. And he was happy when Courtney was.

In the mirror, Gwen spoke again. "And what about you?"

"Promise not to tell?" Courtney said softly.

Gwen nodded, and Courtney let it out. "I really don't know what to say! I couldn't stand the guy weeks ago! He's still teasing me and flirting with me nearly all the time, but then he'll do something sweet for me and I'll wonder how I actually feel. I don't want to like him, but I do and I don't know why!"

Duncan wasn't sure what to think, but hope returned. Courtney didn't love him, but she liked him. But a sense of panic emerged as Beth's white rose caught his eye.

The first petal had fallen.

That same night, Duncan looked into Courtney's library, and saw her asleep in one of the armchairs, and a thought struck him. He picked up the light girl, and carried her up to her room. As he closed the door, he caught sight of the goofy smile on his face in the nearby window.

" _Am I getting soft?"_ he wondered momentarily. " _Aw, what the hell if I am. Maybe I want to be."_

 **Yeah, that thought is not something that's going to last. This chapter was mostly just filler. I guess you could call it this fic's version of "Something There". And yes, I managed to reference THREE TDI episodes: "The Sucky Outdoors" (Courtney falling asleep – not as romantic when she's not cuddled up to Duncan, but it works), "Phobia Factor" (Courtney catching herself hugging Duncan), and "If You Can't Take The Heat" (Can you say 'custard fight'? That's one of my favourite scenes!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, let's keep going. And say hello to another RR cameo! Oh yes, and the steampunk singer/violinist I mention is Emilie Autumn. Gwen's kind of music is whatever everyone else isn't into, so I figured she'd be into a lesser known singer with music that takes some getting used to (but once you do, it proves to be amazing). Also, yes, I realize I referenced Disney, but I decided to cut out all references to this movie and chose another song – lesser loved, but still beautiful. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and Bloodylilcorpse.**

Geoff, DJ and Gwen were shocked at the change in both their employer and his captive. It seemed as if Courtney had been a wonderful influence on Duncan. He didn't just want to make her happy, but in general, he was gentler and kinder than he'd ever been before. But although they didn't know that the rose was starting to shed its petals, they were aware that they were fast running out of time.

"I know that Courtney likes him," Gwen confided to the two guys, "But she doesn't love him yet."

"Maybe we should get him to do something really romantic." DJ suggested.

Geoff spoke up. "Like what? I think what's really romantic is getting a tattoo of someone's name."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. "Geoff, maybe you should stay out of the way until we let you know what to do."

As a matter of fact, they asked around the castle for everyone's ideas.

The winning idea came from a surprising source, actually. Two of the servants were tailors and dressmakers – they made clothes for all the residents, and Lindsay inspected them before handing them out to Duncan, Courtney, or any of the other servants. However, most people avoided the French-Canadian tailors. They were definitely needed, but they weren't well-liked at all.

It was well known among the castle that Josee, the younger tailor, had a temper straight from hell, and only Jacques, her partner in dressmaking, knew how to calm her down. No one wanted to brave that, especially since they weren't very friendly. They were huge on smiling, but after seven years of being stuck in the same place, every other servant in the castle knew that their smiles only hid Josee's psychotic behaviour and the sly, sneaky natures of both of them.

But when DJ braved the risks and asked them for help with the romantic scene, Josee tossed her ponytail and said in a superior tone "It's obvious. The best way to sweep a girl off her feet is at a ball. Duncan knows how to dance, right? Hold a private ball for just him and Courtney."

"You could even choose a particular playlist to make sure it works." Jacques suggested. He was the one who paid more attention to detail. Usually, Josee had the ideas and Jacques refined them. That's what made them able to stand each other, while no one else in the castle seemed to like them.  
DJ smiled. "Thanks, guys!" He paused. "Um...any chance you could make something specially for it?"

The two tailors beamed their fake smiles. "Of course!"

They designed and made a ball dress for Courtney within a week, and Lindsay came up to inspect it. She smiled at the two of them. "This is gorgeous! I'll go and put it in Courtney's closet!"

It was harder to design an outfit for Duncan. It wasn't that he'd wouldn't look good in a regular suit, but more that he would refuse to do so. Eventually, they just embroidered skulls on a tie, and made the suit all black. Lindsay deemed the suit "Perfect" and also put it in Duncan's wardrobe.

DJ discussed the idea with Duncan the night it was suggested. It was true that he could dance well, and he knew an old-fashioned idea like a ball would appeal to Courtney, who clearly liked his most gentlemanly qualities (although he didn't know that she was sort of attracted to his careless side at times).

"Long as we've got a good song to slow-dance to at the end of the night." he joked.

They decided to keep it as a surprise for Courtney. Everyone who knew her was sure she'd love it. While the outfits were made and approved, Gwen did some work and discovered that Courtney's favourite music was violin, even picking out some of her own favourites – steampunk music that no one else knew from a musician who was both a talented singer and violinist, putting in both instrumental compositions like "Manic Depression", along with some of her more gentle songs, like "What If", "Shalott" and "Rapunzel". Finally, to give Duncan the chance to make a proper move on Courtney, she added in some more popular slow songs, specifically a few Disney ones. No matter what she thought, Disney knew romantic songs, and that was what was needed.

On the night, Gwen advised Lindsay to send someone else up to show Courtney her dress, knowing full well that the brunette found the wardrobe consultant irritating. "Someone that she doesn't know so well. One of the women, though." She could tell Lindsay was about to say "Tyler", the name of a clumsy stable boy who spent all of his time inside either trying to impress Lindsay, or cuddling her close like he only had an hour left to spend with her.

Lindsay paused, and finally said "I guess I could send Sierra up..."

Gwen nodded. Sierra was one of the many cleaners of the castle...

" _Yes, I'm in it!" the girl squealed._

 _The narrator glared at her. "Stop interrupting, Sierra! A third interruption and you're leaving. Anyway..."_

She'd originally worked in the kitchen, but after a few mishaps, she was reassigned. She'd developed an obsessive crush on Cody and had to be restrained. But she and Courtney had met, and so far, Courtney hadn't found her irritating.

Three hours before the ball was set to start, Courtney was sitting in her room. She'd been told about the ball at breakfast time, and had spent the whole day stressing about everything. She hadn't been shown the dress yet, since she'd barely even opened her wardrobe and didn't realize there was one made for the occasion.

Anyway, at that moment, there came a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Courtney called.

"It's Sierra!" called back the little-girly voice. "I wanted to help you get ready for tonight."

Courtney sighed and got up to let Sierra in. "I'm glad you're offering," she began, "But I'm not sure I can go."

Sierra gasped. "But you simply have to go! This is all for you! Why wouldn't you want to go?"

"Well, for a start," Courtney said, "I don't know what to wear!"

"Oh, didn't you know? There's a gorgeous ballgown in your wardrobe. Didn't you see it?" Sierra opened Courtney's wardrobe and pulled out the purple princess dress made for the occasion. "See? This will look totes beautiful on you!"

"But..." Courtney struggled. She did want to go to the private ball, and she knew Duncan wanted her to be there. But she was also nervous. She liked hanging out with him now, but this would be in a romantic setting, and it scared her. But she couldn't admit that, and she couldn't find another good excuse.

Sierra was good company. Once Courtney was dressed in her princess gown with matching shoes (not glass), Sierra offered to do her makeup and hair. By the end, the brunette looked stunning. Even her hair looked amazing, straightened so it reached just passed her shoulders and looked glossy and thick, with a small silvery tiara on top.

Meanwhile, Duncan was undergoing all the same terrors that Courtney was. It was easy to flirt with her in a setting where there was no pressure. Now, he had to be a gentleman to her in a highly romantic setting. Geoff tried to get him to calm down and remind him that he could do this. Just because he chose to be a bit of a jerk sometimes...most of the time...it didn't mean he didn't know how to be nice. And tonight, he would do that.

The moment they saw each other and their eyes met, that was when it was sealed. The night was bound to be successful. They didn't really talk as they danced, although Courtney wasn't sure of her abilities.

Duncan was surprisingly graceful, and Courtney relaxed as he led most of the dances. However, in the fourth song, he broke the silences. "Balls aren't just for dancing." he remarked. "It's getting tiring. Wanna get some refreshments?"  
Courtney giggled the abruptness and said "Okay." They still didn't feel the need to talk, not really. They smiled at each other a lot, though, and by the soft look on both guy and girl's faces, they were really enjoying each other's company when they weren't arguing.

It was midnight when Duncan knew it was time to make his move. The gentle music began to play, and the song from Disney floated out.

Duncan drew Courtney close as the redone version of the song played out. " _This is the night, it's a beautiful night, and we call it bella notte._

 _Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes, on this lovely bella notte..."_

As the song played and the two swayed, clinging closely to each other, Duncan thought for a moment that it was true. This was the night. This was the key.

He waited until the end of the song. " _...the heavens are right...on this lovely bel...la not-te..."_

Then, as the strains of the music faded, he gently guided Courtney out to the balcony. There were a few things he wanted to say.

 **We'll pick up again in the next chapter. That's when the climax is officially near!**


	10. Chapter 10

**All right. So as I promised...anyway, thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, and Bloodylilcorpse.**

Duncan's blue eyes looked directly into Courtney's dark ones. "Princess...Courtney," he corrected himself, "I wanted to ask you. Are you happy here?"

Courtney wasn't sure how to answer, if she was honest. She still wanted to fulfill her dreams, but yet, in a way, she felt like she would be content to live in the castle forever. But still...

"Yes." she admitted. "But..."

"What is it?"  
"Bridgette." the brunette murmured. "I miss her so much. I just wish I could see her again."

Duncan paused. But then, he got up, touching Courtney's hand briefly in an affectionate gesture. "There is a way. Wait here." In two minutes, he returned, holding a small mirror.

"I know this may sound nuts," he admitted, "But this mirror is magical. Ask it to show something, and it will."

Courtney frowned, but what did she have to lose? She took the mirror.

"Show me Bridgette." As she spoke, the mists in the mirror cleared and Courtney gasped at the image on there. Bridgette was draped over the front seats of what looked like their car, clearly weak from exhaustion and lack of food. She wasn't asleep as much as she was unconscious. She had passed out, although it looked as if she'd been able to switch off the engine first, luckily. And the car was in the wood surrounding the castle.

Duncan saw the panic on Courtney's face. "Is she all right?"

"No." Courtney said. "She's...I think she's exhausted. She's ill, and I think she's in the woods here, trying to find the castle. She needs me!"

Duncan hesitated. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. But slowly, he heard himself speak. "Then go to her."

Courtney stared at him. "What-"

"I'm letting you go. If you're worried about the coyotes, I do have a motorbike at the back, but they shouldn't be out for another two hours."

Courtney managed a smile. "Thanks," she managed, "For knowing how important she is." She went to give the mirror back, but Duncan refused it.

"You should take it." he said, lingering hope on his words. Maybe, if she could see him but not talk to him, she'd realize that she loved him too. But even when she left, giving him a kiss on the cheek before running to get water and food before going to find her sister., the spell wasn't broken. He had strong feelings for Courtney, which she had for him, but somehow, it wasn't enough. She didn't know if she loved him. And there were only a few petals left on the rose. He had a month at most.

It didn't take Courtney long to find her car, and Bridgette in it. She hadn't been far away from the castle when she'd collapsed. The car had just enough gas to get them home. But the first thing she did was wake Bridgette, insisting that she drink some water.

"Wha?" the younger girl mumbled.

"Hush." Courtney said gently. "Just drink something, and we'll be back home soon."

It was about ten hours before Bridgette came to completely. By that time, she was lying in her bed at home, finally feeling more alert. Even so, Courtney handed her a glass of water and a plain slice of toast when she woke up. Only after she'd downed them both did her brain register what was happening.

"Courtney!" She threw her arms around her older sister. Courtney hugged her back, tightly.

"I missed you so much!" Bridgette said, almost in tears.

"I missed you too." Courtney said. "But what were you _thinking,_ trying to find me again? You shouldn't have done it – you could have killed yourself trying!"

"Never mind me." Bridgette said. "How did you escape?"

Courtney shrugged. "Well...I didn't escape. He let me go."

"He what?" Bridgette frowned. "But he was so cruel! He locked me up for trespassing, barely let me say goodbye to you...how did that happen?"

"I'm not sure." Courtney admitted. "He was cruel at first. But then...I tried to escape, but there were coyotes. And he fought them for me with nothing but a knife. He saved my life that night, Bridge. And after that...well, he made all these sweet gestures for me. We argued all the time, but then he'd do something nice. Half the time, it was less like arguing and more like we were just being...friends, I guess. And last night, he had planned this surprise kind of...private ball for just us. See my outfit?"

For the first time, Bridgette noticed the purple ballgown. "Wow. It's lovely – and it really does suit you."

"You know," Courtney began to smile. "One of the servants kept asking questions about you. I think he had a little crush on you."

Bridgette tried to remember who was there. "Did he have blue eyes? Blonde hair?"

"You're probably thinking of Geoff." Courtney told her. "Yeah. He kept asking. I think he almost wished we were switched around – that I was the one in the dungeons and you sacrificed yourself for me."

Bridgette smiled despite herself. "Maybe once I've recovered, we can go back...I mean, if he's really OK now."

Courtney thought about it. "Maybe that's a good idea. In the meantime, look what he let me take!" She held up the mirror. "This thing is what told me you needed me last night. It shows you whatever you want to see." She made an example. "Show me...hmm...Justin." she said, and the mist cleared to show Justin with Dr McLean, coming up to..

"Hey, he's outside our house with a strange man." Courtney frowned. "The day after you disappeared, Justin proposed to me. I said no. I hope he's not here to try again."

But when Courtney answered the knock on the door, it wasn't Justin, although he was hovering in the background (Izzy had evidently called him the minute the girls had gotten home). It was the man with him, although she saw Izzy and several other townspeople also hovering, a little behind Justin.

"Hey, what's up?" the man said. "I'm Dr Christian McLean. But you can call me Chris. Everyone does."

Courtney shook his hand warily. "Courtney Touland. How can I help you?"

"I'm here for your sister Bridgette." Chris answered. "I was called by a concerned member of the community. Apparently she'd been acting strangely recently."

"What's going on?" asked Bridgette, getting up and going to join Courtney.

Courtney saw the vehicle outside, and one word jumped out at her: _Asylum._

"My sister isn't crazy!" she said fiercely. "You can't take her away."

"Oh yeah? We all heard her raving about how you were kidnapped by a lord!" Izzy called out. "Go on, Bridgette! Tell us again what happened!"

"I'm not making it up! Everything I said was true!" Bridgette cried. "You just didn't believe me!"

"She's not insane!" Courtney added, but no one was listening to her, or to Bridgette.

Finally, Justin approached the brunette. "You know," he said slyly, "I could clear up this...misunderstanding."  
"What's the catch?" Courtney asked, knowing already what he was going to say.

"If you'll marry me."

Courtney didn't let it get any further. "It was true!" she snapped. "I can prove it – without marrying you!" She held up the mirror to the townspeople. "Show me Duncan." she ordered, and the green-haired lord was shown. "This is the man who kept me hostage for the last few months." she explained. "He lives in a castle, six hours' drive from here. I lived in his castle, but he recently let me go."

"Is he violent and dangerous?" quavered Sammy, a shy village girl. Indeed, Duncan looked as if he could be, with all of his facial piercings and dyed hair. He may have been the opposite of Courtney, but the townspeople would have considered him just as much as an outsider...and dangerous to boot.

"No." Courtney said firmly. "He got mad sometimes, but he never hurt me. In fact, he protected me at times." Her face softened as she looked at the image on the glass. "I sometimes liked being with him."

Justin scoffed, staring at the mirror. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that you, the prettiest girl in town, had feelings for this monstrous...character."

"Duncan isn't anywhere near a monster!" Courtney said defensively. "Justin, _your_ character is more monstrous than his!"

Justin acted quickly. "She's as crazy as her sister!" he cried, grabbing the mirror off Courtney. "If this Lord kidnapped an innocent girl from a small village, he'll come after someone else here next! I say we find this castle, and bring him to justice! He'll soon see what the law does to kidnappers!"

"Yes!" cheered the townspeople. They were sure of what Justin was saying. He was twisting things around. Soon, Courtney and Bridgette were barricaded inside their house, while many cars were on their way to the castle (thanks to the settings on the girls' GPS, checked out by Chris breaking into their car), full of people ready to fight to bring Duncan back and put him on trial.

"I must say I'm impressed with how you handled that." Alejandro complimented Justin. "I thought _I_ was good at twisting events, but you put me to shame."

Justin simply nodded, but secretly, he had his own plans. Although he wasn't sure of it, he thought he'd seen something in Courtney's eyes. Duncan was most definitely a threat to his plan to marry her. He needed to get him out of the way completely. And that meant kaput.

 **Yes, this is where Justin is the monster, and Duncan is finally the good guy. Hope you like it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**All right. Let's keep going. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, Gage the Hedgehog and the guest reviewer.**

While the townspeople were driving to the castle in the early morning, Bridgette and Courtney were trying desperately to find a window or door that hadn't been blocked. It didn't help at all that Bridgette was still weak and not much help. If it came to breaking out, Courtney would have to do it all herself.

It took half an hour to get out. Not because it was hard to find a window, but because it was the bathroom window, and it was hard to get up to it by standing on the toilet's flush button, and hard to suck it in enough to fit through such a tiny space. Then they had to get down safely. Courtney's dress got torn while she was climbing out, and she scraped both her knees. Bridgette actually managed it more easily, since she was in practical clothes and was more athletic, weak as she was. But without their GPS, they'd just have to try their hardest to remember what roads to take, and they were still far behind the other townspeople. Besides that, it was early morning, and Courtney was tired, having not slept since the night before. The sun was just starting to come up when they reached the castle, it having taken seven hours with them having made a few wrong guesses about which roads to take. At least it gave Courtney the time to explain to Bridgette why they should be on the side of the people in the castle, enough for the blonde to support that side, despite how Duncan had treated her.

Meanwhile, the townspeople had reached the castle a couple of hours before. DJ had been the first to see a bunch of people coming. Duncan had been up in the forbidden staircase, but there was a much easier alert.

DJ went through the castle, saying to everyone he could find "Lockdown! There's a mob approaching. Something tells me they're not here for any good reason."

When he told Gwen, she rolled her eyes and said "What was your first clue? Their angry faces or the fact that I can hear them yelling 'Justice must be served' over and over, even here? I think the people in Courtney's town found out where she'd been."

"But Courtney wouldn't turn us in!" Cody protested. "She's not very nice to me, but I know she wouldn't."

"Shut up, I know she wouldn't either." Gwen said. "But her sister might've, and Courtney wouldn't have had time to stop her before now."

The lockdown went into effect just as the townspeople reached the door. It took them a good hour to work out how to break the door down, and although they didn't know it, Bridgette and Courtney weren't far away by that time.

All the servants were gathered in the hallway. Geoff spoke quietly, his almost permanent smile absent for once. "We can't stay like this forever. If they break in, we have to attack. Work to your strengths, guys, all right?"

Everyone had their own strengths. Even the unfriendly tailors were agile and quick, and ditzy Lindsay could drive anyone insane by making a distraction by acting more dim than she really was (which was no easy task).

The doors flew open, and first in was a good-looking dark guy with muscles to rival DJ's. Instantly, the personal butcher, Jo, jumped at him and attacked like he was tough beef and she was going to pummel him into tenderization. But there were far more people to come.

Soon, both women and men from the village were fighting, even the unmarried women who were still considered too young. It was a free-for-all, everyone dedicated to their side, some winning, some losing.

Heather had already drawn blood from Gwen with her nails. Sierra knocked out anyone who tried to challenge Cody. Lindsay was able to push people away with her impressive cleavage. DJ, though not a fighter by nature, was able to use his strength to keep the stragglers out of the castle completely. Geoff was further into the action and had already taken on and beaten Max, an overconfident teenager who'd thoughtlessly challenged him.

However, not everyone from the castle was winning. After a few pushes, Alejandro cleverly distracted Lindsay and caught the attention of a few of the other women, but sadly, he also caught the attention of Taylor and Amy, so they were out of the fight. Izzy was one of the best at fighting from the village, laughing as she finally managed to win her battle against Josee (they were evenly matched, but Izzy started to predict Josee's moves and chose to be unpredictable herself) and went to help out Heather with Gwen.

Justin was standing by, looking for the guy he'd seen in the mirror. He glanced in it, seeing himself for a moment and preening. "Show me the lord of this castle." he ordered, and the mist in the mirror cleared to reveal that Duncan was most definitely not in the hall. Justin took one of the many staircases, not knowing that in fact, he'd chosen the right one.

Courtney and Bridgette arrived at the scene in time to see about half the villagers winning, and the other half losing. Bridgette hung back for a moment, analysing the situation and wondering what she should do, but Courtney dived into the action. She instantly saw that Izzy was winning her latest fight, and jumped on her.

"Get away from my friend, you psycho!" the brunette screeched, pulling Izzy off Gwen and kicking her away. She helped Gwen up and whispered to her "If one of the men is attacking, go for the kiwis."

Courtney used that move herself, several times. Bridgette, on the other hand, didn't fight, but whenever she saw someone hurt who was from the castle, she tried to help them so they could continue fighting. With the girls' help, most of the villagers gave up, seeing they couldn't possibly win with so many competent people battling them. After all, their health was more important than bringing some lord to justice, and it didn't really matter if the only people he'd acted against were Courtney and Bridgette, anyway.

Bridgette, who was checking out some wounds that Geoff had acquired, looked up. "We won?"

"Not quite." Courtney said grimly. "Justin wasn't with them. I think he's somewhere in here, trying to find Duncan. I have to find him first – I know Duncan can handle himself, but there's no way I'm letting Justin get any further."

"I'll stay here and check out everyone else." Bridgette offered. Healing was her specialty, rather than fighting. And Geoff certainly seemed happy with her staying, since he was looking at her as if her taking care of his injuries was his idea of heaven.

Courtney nodded. "Good idea. " She had to set off alone. And if her hunch was right, she would have to go somewhere in the castle that she'd been forbidden to go to.

 **Yes, it's time for the final showdown!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, final time it is! I'm not sure about killing Justin or not, though...oh well, you'll know by the end of this chapter!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Bloodylilcorpse, Lonestarr, catherandwren, MccDB and Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart!**

It was only about five minutes before Bridgette and Courtney had arrived that Justin had made his way to a shadowy staircase and gone up in search of the punky-looking lord. He couldn't have known that he was venturing into Duncan's quarters, but he'd had a gut feeling that the guy he was looking for was up there.

And Duncan was. It had only been thirty-six hours since Courtney had gone, but the news had spread quickly and he'd been up there for the last twenty-four. The servants had been truly shocked when he'd let Courtney go after all the work they'd done to bring them together. Gwen, DJ and Geoff had been tactful, but not all of them had.

"You were so close!" Emma had complained. "You're not just destroying your chances – you're destroying ours too!"

"I'm scared!" Lindsay had whimpered. "I don't wanna disappear! Beth won't really make me disappear, will she?"

"You can't just give up!" Sierra had raged. "It's not fair on you, or us!"

"She has a point." Cody had added tentatively, earning an unwanted hug from Sierra.

Josee had thrown one of her famous tantrums, eventually exhausting herself. Jacques hadn't even tried to calm her down, being furious himself, although he controlled his anger better.

Eventually, Duncan had had enough of them berating him, and he didn't have the heart to threaten any of them. He'd directed Gwen to get him a snack, which she obeyed. Then he trudged up to his quarters and had been staying there since. Sure, he was bored out of his skull, but at least he didn't have to face everyone else. But the main reason was the revelation he'd had.

" _If you love someone, let them go. I let Courtney go...do I love her?"_ It was true. Courtney hadn't been gone that long, but she was still on Duncan's mind. He couldn't find a way to get her out of his head. He kept rewinding that moment when he'd let her go, imagining telling her to bring Bridgette back to the castle and have her looked after there, so she could keep her promise of staying. And he regretted letting her take the mirror. Now he couldn't even find out how she was.

The rooms in his quarters were heavily soundproofed, so Duncan didn't even hear the people coming. If he had, he might have helped out, being pretty skilled at unarmed battle, but as it was, he didn't hear anything until the door to one of his rooms was thrown open and a tall, handsome figure stood there, holding the hand mirror aloft.

"Lord Duncan." the voice said. It was a statement, not a question. "We meet at last."

Duncan stared the man down. "Who are you?" he finally said in his most dangerous tone. "And how did you get my mirror?"

"Oh, this is yours?" the man said. "I seem to recall that you gave it to someone else. Well, I'm sorry, but you don't always get what you want in life. Meaning, did you honestly think someone as beautiful as Courtney would want a punk freak like you?"

That did it for Duncan. He slowly advanced on the man. "Who are you, and what have you done with Courtney?"

"Oh, how rude of me." The man said. "My name is Justin. I don't think you deserve to hear my last name, especially as it won't be of much use to you once I'm finished. And for your information, Courtney is safe and sound and if she wants her sister to be likewise, she will be mine."

This enraged the young lord. In a swift movement, he snatched the mirror off Justin and said to it "Where is Courtney?" The mirror showed Courtney slowly coming up the same staircase that would lead her where they were standing right at that moment.

"I suppose I'll have to cut this short, then." Justin said as he looked at the mirror, reaching into a pocket on the inside of his clothes. Out came a small handgun.

Duncan may not have looked scared, but there was a reason. While he wasn't especially experienced with firearms, he'd been taught how to aim a gun when he was eight, when Jo (who hunted and killed most of the meat) had taught him how to aim a gun to make sure that he was shooting in the exact right place. And Justin was aiming too low – at that rate, if Duncan made a tiny jump at the right time, the bullet wouldn't even graze him.

As the shot sounded and Duncan dodged, the door to the room flew open and the brunette stood there, her eyes blazing. "Justin, don't even think-" she began furiously.

Justin turned. "Oh, Courtney!" he said in his most charming, velvety tones. "I'm sorry, but I could see you'd been brainwashed by this...creature. Stockholm Syndrome is serious, and I'll have to ask Dr McLean if he'll help you with that once we are married, but-"

"How _dare_ you!" shrieked Courtney. "I wasn't brainwashed, and that creep isn't going to get anywhere near me or Bridgette! And even if it was true, no one deserves to die!" She jumped at him, wrestling the gun away from him, and finishing it off with a knee to the crotch, leaving Justin in incredible pain.

Duncan had been silent all this time, but he'd watched Courtney with incredible respect. If it had been a less serious situation, he would have registered that Courtney's combat skills were actually a turn-on. But as it was, he had a moral dilemma. While Justin lay on the ground, she looked at the gun, then at Duncan.

"Should we?" she murmured. "I know I said no one deserves to die, but..."

Duncan scowled at the guy on the ground. "If he just leaves, letting him live is all right."

Courtney smiled. "Good call." she said. She gave Duncan the gun and walked over to him ."Justin? Leave." she ordered. "Just don't bother anyone here again and we won't kill you."

But what Courtney didn't realize, was that Justin was stronger than he looked. It seemed like he was going to leave, but before anyone could react, he suddenly had the gun back, and shot. This time, he aimed higher, and punctured Duncan's heart. But Courtney saw it.

"Duncan!" she screamed.

At that moment, the doorway was darkened again, by several more people. But this time, it was a good thing

"He's in here, sir." a girl's voice said, and two men in dark uniform came in, followed by Bridgette. Instantly, all of them registered Duncan having fallen to the ground and Justin holding a gun. He spoke to Courtney.  
"Excuse me, Miss." one of the men said. "But we got reports of unjustified vigilante action here."

It was a policeman. Courtney jumped to her feet. "Yes." she said. "And attempted murder." she indicated Justin. "We need an ambulance." She pointed to Duncan.

Duncan was dying, but he was still conscious. "No..." he began. "I...not allowed to..." He still couldn't talk about the curse, about how he actually couldn't leave the castle, but it didn't matter.

While Justin was cuffed by the policeman and led away, knowing that there was no way his looks could get him out of this charge, Bridgette hovered anxiously. "What happened?" she asked.

"Justin shot him." Courtney managed to say, her voice choked up. "How did you..."

"Your cellphone was in the car." Bridgette smiled. "I called the police. Should I call an ambulance too?"

Courtney nodded, starting to cry. Bridgette tactfully left, and Duncan looked up at Courtney.

"You came back..." he managed to say, not caring that he was stating the obvious.

"I had to." Courtney managed in a whisper. "I couldn't let you get hurt. Not after what you did for me."

Duncan smiled slightly. "I don't think...the hospital...can help me now..."

"Don't say it!" Courtney said fiercely. "You're not going to die! I won't let you!"

"Just..." Duncan knew that this would be the last thing he would say. "Live for me...and tell your sister...I'm sorry..." His voice faded.

Courtney couldn't stop the tears from flowing as Duncan's pulse faded. "No!" she whispered. "Please, please don't go..." And as she sobbed, a truth came to her that she hadn't realized. And just in case Duncan might still be able to hear, she whispered those three words...

"I love you."

And as she spoke, the last petal of the magical rose fell.

 **It's a sad moment in the movie, and it's a sad moment here. If Duncan had been shot in the heart without medical care, there's no doubt he would have died in a real world. But there's still hope.**


	13. Chapter 13

**All right. This is the last chapter. I hope you like the fairytale ending.**

 **Thank you for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart. Let me know – how do you always review two minutes after the chapter is uploaded? Also, thanks to catherandwren, Bloodylilcorpse, Gage the Hedgehog, HeronFray104 and ShortAsVegeta.**

As Courtney cried, a knock on the door sounded, and in came a new person, who tapped Courtney on the shoulder.

The crying girl looked up. "Who are you?" she managed.

"I'll explain everything." the little girl standing in front of her lisped. "You love Duncan, don't you?"

Courtney managed a nod.

"And he loves you." the little girl said. "You came here just in time to save him and everyone in the castle from my curse. Had you not realized it in time, you would be crying over a sentient statue, and every single person in this castle except for your sister would have disappeared."

Courtney scowled. "You're nuts! That's not true."

The little girl scowled. "I'd be careful with what you say to me. Things are not as they seem. Let me introduce myself." She revealed herself as that powerful enchantress, the way she had seven years ago. She was still little, but she was a teenager, and power radiated from her, like an aura. "My name is Beth. Seven years ago, I came to this castle, asking for shelter. Duncan turned me away, so I confined him and all the servants to the castle. Everyone else here is the same age they were back then, although Duncan has aged. I left a rose here, for the time limit of the curse. But I would lift it, if Duncan learned compassion and love, and have it returned." She smiled. "And he has...through you. And because I feel that you should both be rewarded, I will heal Duncan for you, and the curse shall be lifted."

Courtney gasped. "But...you...enchant...why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Part of the curse was that they couldn't tell anyone." Beth explained. "You have no idea what everyone was thinking the night you walked in. It was obvious – if anyone was going to bring out the good in Duncan, you would."

Courtney raised an eyebrow. "And Bridgette couldn't?"

"To be absolutely honest," Beth said, "Bridgette is lovely, but she's far too nice to present the kind of challenge. You and Duncan fit because you both broke each other's walls down." She smiled. "I'd explain more, but Duncan's running out of time. I need to heal his gunshot wound quickly if you want him to live. Don't worry, I caught Bridgette before she called the hospital, so that's done."

When Beth was finished, she looked back up at Courtney. "You've captured a heart that has a lot of potential goodness inside it, something you unlocked. Take care of it."

And with a smile, she disappeared.

And Duncan stirred. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the brunette. "Courtney?" he said. "I thought...is this heaven?"

"You're alive." Courtney said softly. "I know everything now – you were cursed. The person who cursed you – she ressurrected you. And the curse is over. You can leave the castle."

Duncan's gaze drifted to the wilted rose, and he instantly knew it. It was true. The time had passed, and he was still himself. And with that thought in place, he couldn't help himself. He paid no attention to how rough he was as he pulled Courtney close and kissed her with the passion of a million men in love.

Courtney pushed him away. "Back off, Neanderthal!" she said sternly. "Kissing isn't a battle!"

"Oh?" Duncan teased. "So what is it?"

Courtney tried to keep her stern look in place, but her face softened against her will. "Try it like this..." she said as she (more gently) took his face in her hands, and kissed him, for a long time.

Things changed in the castle after that day. That first moment, when Duncan and Courtney came back down the staircase, they saw that Bridgette was deep in conversation with Geoff, who was looking at her as if she was an angel. After that day, both sisters stayed in the castle. But now, they were free to leave when they liked, and some of the servants left at times, too.

Emma, desperate to start her degree in international law, left for law school soon after the curse was lifted. Noah quit his job as a librarian, and he and Emma started dating a few months later.

Most of the other servants stayed in the castle. Bridgette took Courtney's bedroom after a few weeks, when Duncan asked her if she wanted to stay in his quarters. Sure, it was early days, but Courtney already knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, so she agreed.

It didn't take long for more romance to bloom. It wasn't long before Geoff's clueless style of flirting got him in major trouble with Bridgette, but with some help from DJ, he won her over. After six weeks in the castle, the two blondes were inseparable. After an initial month, they became a little less dependent on each other's company, but their passion for each other was never close to fading.

Justin ended up being incarcerated, with appeal for parole being in ten years. Once the villagers knew what he'd done, they were all shocked. None of them ever came to the castle again, but Justin was decidedly less popular when he was locked up in prison. The only true loss from him was Izzy's job of praising him, and she soon found something else to do.

Courtney eventually went to law school, but now that Duncan was able to leave the castle, they still saw each other often. There was a time when she became suspicious that he might have something for Gwen, after she spent a break in the castle and noticed how close they were getting, but she soon relaxed when she was reminded that Gwen had been working in the castle since she was a child, and had been frozen at sixteen when Duncan was a little kid (although now she was aging again). On the whole, Courtney felt comfortable, and deep down, she knew that Duncan wouldn't cheat on her, especially not with one of the servants.

Above all, the two sisters, one-time misfits, had found their real home and the happiness they deserved. And there was only one thing they could think of. As Courtney said one night:

"Opposites attract...a tale as old as time." She chuckled. "And they lived happily ever after."

 **And that's the end! So, what did you think?**

 **Please, just one last little review?**


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